Towers of Midnight

This is the penultimate Wheel of Time volume, and it pays debts the series has owed for a dozen books: Moiraine returns, the gholam dies, Mesaana falls, and Perrin finally owns what he is. Sanderson's brisk chapters suit readers who felt the middle books sagged, while Jordan's notes keep the character voices intact. Come for the Tower of Ghenjei heist and the hammer-forging; stay for Egwene out-dueling a Forsaken in her own dream.

1. 1

   Act 1

   Trial by Fire and Foxheads

   Rand al'Thor, fresh from his epiphany on Dragonmount, Travels to an apple orchard in the Borderlands. His presence causes the blighted, dying trees to suddenly bloom with healthy apples, astonishing the farmer and his wife. Perrin Aybara and his followers encounter the Children of the Light in Ghealdan. Jaret Byar and Dain Bornhald accuse Perrin of killing two of their colleagues, which Perrin admits to. Galad Damodred discovers his stepmother Morgase Trakand among the refugees. Galad and Perrin agree to a trial with Morgase as judge under Andoran law. Perrin reveals his ability to speak with wolves and claims as his defense that the two men killed his wolf friends. Morgase judges Perrin guilty of 'illegal killing' under an obscure law governing mercenaries. Perrin agrees to abide by Galad's ruling after Tarmon Gai'don, but Galad does not immediately pronounce sentence. Faile Bashere and Berelain sur Paendrag agree that Berelain will publicly denounce the rumors that she and Perrin were paramours during Faile's imprisonment. Berelain subsequently attaches herself to Galad. In the Blight, Nae'blis Moridin charges Graendal with killing Perrin Aybara. He gives her a dreamspike ter'angreal that hinders Traveling and movement, and assigns his minion Isam to her service. Graendal orders Isam to plant the dreamspike so that Perrin's Asha'man cannot form gateways, and an army of Trollocs moves to destroy Perrin's forces. At the Black Tower, Mazrim Taim rules with an iron fist. Gateways fail upon construction, confining those within to Taim's watch. A small group of Soldiers and Dedicated, including Androl Genhald, Emarin, Jonneth, Canler, and the Two Rivers Asha'man, notice the darkness gripping the Tower and try to glean Taim's intentions while planning escape to Logain and the Dragon Reborn. Mat Cauthon meets Queen Elayne Trakand in Caemlyn to discuss building 'dragons' (artillery) to former Illuminator Aludra's specifications. They bargain over who gets to keep how many dragons, and Mat agrees to let Elayne borrow his foxhead ter'angreal to make copies.

2. 2

   Act 2

   Dreams, Medallions, and a Gholam's Fall

   Perrin enters the dream world to remove the dreamspike. He is attacked by Isam. Hopper and other wolves help Perrin, but Isam's mastery of the dream world enables him to kill several wolves. Perrin takes the dreamspike and lures Isam away, eventually reaching Tar Valon. In Caemlyn, Elayne uses an angreal to weave a disguise and impersonate one of the Forsaken. She questions Black Sister Chesmal but is exposed when Chesmal's Black Sisters Eldrith and Temaile arrive, along with Sylvase Caeren. Using Mat's ter'angreal and a copy she made, she defeats Chesmal, Eldrith, and Temaile. Elayne's Darkfriend former guard Doilen Mellar surprises her and steals both the original foxhead medallion and its copy. In desperation, Elayne uses the One Power to collapse the roof on him. She regains the original ter'angreal, but Mellar escapes with a copy. Mat and Talmanes lure the gholam into a trap in Caemlyn. After battling the creature into a burning building, Mat wounds it with Elayne's copies of his medallion and forces it into a Skimming gateway, pushing it into the endless void to fall forever. In the Aiel Waste, Aviendha journeys through the Aiel Waste toward Rhuidean for her final test to become a Wise One. A wandering Aiel named Nakomi visits her campfire and muses about the fate of the Aiel once their toh to the Dragon has been met. The question gnaws at her. Egwene al'Vere, the Amyrlin Seat, meets with the Hall of the Tower in Tel'aran'rhiod. She reveals her plan to hunt the Forsaken Mesaana and deal with the murders of Aes Sedai in the White Tower. Gawyn Trakand confronts an intruder outside Egwene's chambers in the White Tower, disrupting the wards she had set against Mesaana. Egwene refuses to bond him as her Warder due to his disobedience.

3. 3

   Act 3

   The Tower of Ghenjei and the Breaking of Minds

   In Tel'aran'rhiod, Egwene arranges a meeting of the Hall of the Tower to draw Mesaana into a trap. Mesaana and the Black Ajah attack. The dreamspike Perrin moved keeps Mesaana from escaping. Egwene's mastery of the dream world enables her to break Mesaana's mind. Gawyn returns to Tar Valon and stops three Bloodknives from killing Egwene. Egwene awakens and bonds Gawyn as her Warder, agreeing to marry him. On the Tower grounds, Hopper and Perrin fight Isam. Isam kills Hopper, forever ending any chance of rebirth for the wolf. Perrin destroys the dreamspike by dropping it into a nightmare that has taken the form of a volcano. Back in the flesh, Perrin feels compelled to forge a war hammer. Asha'man Fager Neald discovers a Talent for creating a Power-forged weapon, resulting in a hammer Perrin names Mah'alleinir, meaning 'he who soars' in the Old Tongue. Galad's Children are unaware they are about to be ambushed by the Trolloc army intended for Perrin. Perrin's army attacks first, destroying the Trollocs and saving the Children. Galad sets a light sentence: Perrin must make financial restitution and fight in the Last Battle. Jaret Byar attempts to kill Perrin but is instead killed by Dain Bornhald, who no longer believes Perrin killed his father. Galad accepts Perrin's proposal to join his force and swears to remain under Perrin's command until the Last Battle is over. Then the heist: Mat, Thom Merrilin, and Noal enter the Tower of Ghenjei to rescue Moiraine Damodred. Guided by Mat's luck, they navigate an extra-dimensional labyrinth, warding off the Eelfinn with fire, music, and iron weapons. Mat strikes a bargain with the Eelfinn for safe passage out of the Tower, offering 'half the light of the world' — his left eye is plucked from its socket. The Aelfinn chase them, and Noal, revealing himself as Jain Farstrider, stays behind to buy time. Driven to a dead end, Mat realizes his ashandarei polearm is the key to safe passage, rending the walls and earning their freedom. Moiraine awakens outside, severely weakened in the One Power but in possession of a supremely powerful angreal, and in love with Thom Merrilin.

4. 4

   Act 4

   Maradon, Rhuidean, and the Road to Merrilor

   Rand Travels with Min Farshaw to the ruined port of Bandar Eban, which he had abandoned to starvation. His demeanor brightened, he feeds the hungry and sets the city right. Rand al'Thor Travels to the besieged fortress of Maradon in Saldaea. He places himself at the forefront of the Shadow's assault and repels a horde of tens of thousands of Shadowspawn single-handedly with an immense amount of the One Power, saving Maradon. Rand Travels to the White Tower and tells Egwene he intends to shatter the remaining seals on the Dark One's prison to erect a more permanent replacement. Unable to convince him, Egwene concedes to meet him in one month at the Fields of Merrilor and races to unite the nations against what she sees as doom. In Rhuidean, Aviendha passes the final trial of the crystal columns in Rhuidean, seeing the history of the Aiel's shame through her ancestor's eyes. She then touches the ter'angreal and inadvertently sees a future vision where the Seanchan overtake the wetlands and drive the Aiel to extinction. She leaves desperate to find Rand and change it. Morgase convinces Elayne to let Perrin administer the Two Rivers under Andoran rule. Elayne uses the dragons and promises of estates to convince the Cairhienin to make her queen of Cairhien, uniting Andor and Cairhien. Shaidar Haran blames Graendal for the deaths of three Forsaken — Mesaana, Aran'gar, and Asmodean — and begins to punish her. At the Fields of Merrilor, the night before the parley, Rand hears a scream in a dream. He sees a woman he knows is Mierin Eronaile, also known as Lanfear, begging him to help her escape torture before she tumbles into darkness. At the Black Tower, Mazrim Taim rules with an iron fist. Gateways fail upon construction, confining those within to Taim's watch. A small group of Soldiers and Dedicated, including Androl Genhald, Emarin, Jonneth, Canler, and the Two Rivers Asha'man, notice the darkness gripping the Tower and try to glean Taim's intentions while planning escape to Logain and the Dragon Reborn.

• PPerrin AybaraThe wolfbrother forced to answer for old kills and fight a war inside dreams. He loses Hopper, forges Mah'alleinir, and ends the book commanding even the Children of the Light.
• EEgwene al'VereThe Amyrlin Seat hunting Mesaana through Tel'aran'rhiod while refusing Gawyn's bond. She breaks a Forsaken's mind, then bonds Gawyn and agrees to marry him.
• MMat CauthonThe gambler who bargains with Eelfinn and pays with his left eye to free Moiraine. He also kills the gholam and lends Elayne the foxhead that nearly kills her.
• RRand al'ThorThe Dragon Reborn, reborn in spirit after Dragonmount. He heals Bandar Eban, shatters the horde at Maradon, and demands the seals be broken before Tarmon Gai'don.
• AAviendhaThe Aiel maiden taking her final Wise One trial in Rhuidean. A second pass through the ter'angreal shows her an Aiel extinction she must prevent.
• MMoiraine DamodredThe Aes Sedai thought dead since Lanfear dragged her through a ter'angreal. Rescued from the Eelfinn, she returns weakened in the Power and in love with Thom.
• GGalad DamodredLord Captain Commander of the Children, who tries Perrin by law and then marches under his banner. His verdict: restitution and the Last Battle.
• EElayne TrakandQueen of Andor building dragons and hunting Black sisters in disguise. She loses a copied medallion to Mellar but gains the throne of Cairhien.
• AAndrol GenhaldA Soldier at the Black Tower who sees Taim's rot clearly. He and a handful of allies plot escape to Logain while gateways fail around them.
• GGraendalThe Forsaken handed a dreamspike and Isam to kill Perrin. Her scheme fails, and Shaidar Haran comes to punish her for three dead Forsaken.

The dreamspike

Mah'alleinir

Mat's lost eye

The crystal columns

The foxhead medallion

The ending is a held breath. Rand's dream of Lanfear — a face he does not recognize, yet knows is Mierin Eronaile, begging rescue before tumbling into darkness — lands the night before the parley that will decide how the world fights the Last Battle. Read one way, it is a warning: the woman he loved and condemned is not gone, and mercy may be a trap. Read another, it is the final test of his Dragonmount rebirth — whether the man who feeds the hungry can also pity the Forsaken who helped break him. Around that dream, the book closes every small ledger so the last volume can open the great one: Moiraine is back, Mesaana is broken, the gholam is void-fodder, and the nations are summoned to Merrilor. Aviendha's vision of Aiel extinction supplies the counterweight — a future that must be argued with, not accepted. Nothing is resolved; everything is loaded.

1. 1.Aviendha's second pass through the Rhuidean ter'angreal shows the Aiel extinct because of her own descendants. Does foreknowledge of the future in the Wheel of Time create obligation, or does it trap the seer in a self-fulfilling pattern?

Wheel of Time readers who have waited twelve books for Moiraine's rescue, Mesaana's fall, and Perrin's reckoning. Newcomers should start at The Eye of the World — this is the thirteenth volume and assumes everything before it.

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